Workshop 1 – all groups Role of local government Reminder: all discussions will be recorded though non-attributable Local government plays an extremely important role in tackling climate change because: –it employs 13% of the Scottish workforce; and –it sets and delivers policies which have a direct and indirect impact on emissions in communities. The Bill will create a framework for action for 4 decades – this is a long-term framework and will, hopefully, outlast this and many future administrations and, therefore other single initiatives currently in place The Scottish Government recognises that Single Outcome Agreements are the key process for delivering local and national outcomes Voluntary measures such as the Scottish Climate Change Declaration are a key step in taking action to reduce emissions and will continue to be Voluntary measures may not suffice in driving long-term sustained action and tools may be needed to ensure that all parts of Scottish society – government, business and individuals – continue to make progress in reducing emissions The Bill can serve as a vehicle to introduce measures in the future – we may not need these measures currently and we can not anticipate the exact measures which will be needed, but using secondary legislation in the future can allow government to react quickly to changing circumstances while still ensuring parliamentary scrutiny

Workshop 1 – groups 1 & 3 Delivering on Commitments The Scottish Government and all 32 local authorities re- affirmed their commitment to the Climate Change Declaration in November 2007 While Single Outcome Agreements are still being negotiated, it is highly likely that most, if not all, will contain measure(s) on climate change Enabling powers in the Bill would allow Ministers to create a duty on the public sector to take certain action on climate change – these have not been defined and there is no intention currently to use those powers – the creation of a new duty would be subject to further consultation

Workshop 1 – groups 2 & 4 A new framework – building on existing good practice Examples of good practice frameworks include: Best Value, the Sustainable Development Toolkit, Strategic Environmental Assessment, Single Outcome Agreements (potentially) and many others looking at specific delivery areas, such as planning Possible ways of improving guidance could be including specific CC-related issues (i.e. carbon accounting, meeting targets) Best Value currently states: “consideration of the social, economic and environmental impacts of activities and decisions both in the shorter and longer term” but does not specifically refer to climate change; May be need for guidance (existing or new) ensures reaching CC-targets is not done at ‘any cost’ (such as being detrimental to other environmental issues) Enabling powers in the Bill would allow Ministers to create new guidance for the public sector stating how certain action on climate change should be carried out – this have not been defined and there is no intention currently to use those powers – the creation of new guidance would be subject to further consultation; existing frameworks would be utilised first

Workshop 2 – groups 1 & 3 Reporting and scrutiny Consultation does not propose that a new scrutiny system on the Scottish Government should be created to compliment existing Parliamentary scrutiny but it does seek views on whether this is sufficient, what needs to be included in annual reports by the Scottish Government, and whether new functions should be kept at arms-length from government (i.e. given to a public body) All local authorities in the Climate Change Declaration have pledged to “publish an annual statement on the monitoring and progress of our climate change response, detailing targets set, actions taken, outcomes achieved and further actions required” A more consistent, detailed and robust reporting may be required at a later date Enabling powers in the Bill would allow Ministers to create a requirement for the public sector to report on specific climate change issues – this has not been defined and there is no intention currently to use those powers – the creation of new reporting requirements would be subject to further consultation; existing frameworks would be utilised first Examples of specific measures include carbon footprint of the organisation, vehicle emissions in the local authority, recycling, etc.

Workshop 2 – groups 2 & 4 Changes to legislation Variable charging would include charging people different fees depending on the carbon-impact of an item (i.e. waste collection, higher parking charges depending on the type of vehicle, council tax related to energy efficiency of homes) Perverse incentives emanate from policies or practices that induce unsustainable behaviour, often as unanticipated side effects of policies designed to attain other objectives (i.e. large item waste collection on a ‘per pick-up’ basis rather than by amount of waste may incentivise people to throw away as much as possible at once rather than recycle/donate)